Senate will work with FG to improve education sector — Lawmaker

The Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Olamilekan Adeola, has said that the Senate will work with the Federal Government to make the nation’s educational institutions globally competitive for economic and technological development.

Adeola disclosed this on Thursday while inaugurating a block of classrooms and office complexes at the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijagun, and Federal College of Education, Osiele Abeokuta, all in Ogun State on Thursday.

The projects sponsored by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund were valued at over  N7 billion.

Adeola who is representing Ogun West Senatorial District at the National Assembly, during the commissioning of the project at FUNAAB assured that the 10th Senate will continue to support TETFUND to advance tertiary education through the enactment of legislation.

The Senator who was represented by the state’s former Commissioner for Agriculture, Tope Popoola said “I wish to reiterate that the National Assembly would continue to work harmoniously with the Executive towards making our educational institutions globally competitive for economic and technological development of the country.

“I, therefore, wish to use this opportunity to assure you that the 10th Senate under the leadership of the Senate President, Distinguished Senator Godswill Akpabio and indeed, the entire National Assembly will continue to provide the necessary support to the TETfund through the enactment of legislations that would further advance tertiary education in Nigeria,” Adeola added.

In his remark, Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc. Sonny Echono stated that FUNAAB has received allocations up to N8,759,098,751.25 for infrastructure-related interventions since the commencement of the Fund’s interventions to the institution in 2009.

The Executive Secretary who was represented by Arc. Babatunde Olajide, Director, Monitoring and Evaluation, also noted that 91.6 percent of the funds have been accessed and deployed to address infrastructural deficiencies in the university.

His words “The statistics reveal that about 91.6% of these funds have been accessed and deployed to address infrastructural deficiencies in the university. We have no doubt that the projects undertaken with these funds have remarkably impacted the mandate of the university in facilitating teaching,

He added, “Our resolve as a Fund is to ensure that our interventions are sustained and improved upon as much as possible to enable our institutions to undertake bigger and more laudable and impactful projects that will make them globally competitive.

The projects at the institutions include; an academic office complex with seminar Rooms and an E-Library, a block of Offices and Information Centre, an extension to College of Agricultural Management and Rural Development, Block of Offices and Information Centre to FUNAAB.

Students Guidance and Counseling Center, Academic Block and Academic Staff Office Building, School of Science Complex, School of Arts and Social Science Complex, and a 250-seater Auditorium to FCE Osiele and TASUED respectively.